With Rainbow Black, Maggie Thrash has gifted us the next must-read crime novel, just in time for spring and early summer book club picks. For readers of recent popular crime-fiction titles such as Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens) and I Have Some Questions for You (Rebecca Makkai), Thrash’s first adult novel is not to be missed. The plot, characters, and writing come together in a complex but well-crafted book that will keep nearly everyone turning pages. Rainbow Black is an excellent choice for a weekend devoted to reading, and any book club that picks this one up is destined for an active discussion. In our current moment of moral panics, the novel taps into the history of anxieties about child care, gender, and sexuality.
The novel hinges on two different crime stories, both featuring the same main character. It begins in rural New Hampshire in the 1980s, with our narrator, known then as Lacey, learning from her sister and One Life to Live that “if you have a secret, you’re fucked.” This way of seeing the world becomes all too real when Lacey’s parents, who run a daycare center out of their home, are accused of horrific child abuse in an instance of “satanic panic.” The real-life McMartin case serves as a distant backdrop while Lacey attempts to navigate small town life during her parents’ trial. Although Lacey’s parents don’t have the secret that prosecutors think they do, Lacey embraces the “Satan Daughter” label applied to her, dramatically damaging her parents’ case.
The case also puts Lacey and her sister in physical danger, and when her sister is murdered, Lacey moves into a group home where she finds little support. The other residents are mostly hostile, and Lacey is denied visits with her parents because of the accusations against them. However, Lacey’s childhood friend, Dylan, soon arrives, offering Lacey a much needed connection and perhaps an excuse for what happens next.
The second crime story on which the novel focuses involves Lacey and Dylan, a transgender woman who also goes by Destiny and Gwen at various points in the novel. Dylan is whimsical, creative, and endearing, serving as an important counterbalance to Lacey, who some may consider “unlikeable.” Dylan was raised by a single mother who was in and out of prison due to substance abuse, but who helped her get hormone therapy as a young teen. Soon after arriving at the group home, Dylan is sent to live with her father and his sons, one of whom is hell-bent on outing Dylan. Because of these circumstances, the pair decide to flee the United States, establishing themselves in Canada under new names.
Other crimes and deceptions become necessary to make this new life possible, though. Lacey is particularly active in crafting their new future. She has always known who she is and grew up in an accepting family, never having to come out, and seemingly as a result, she is tough, decisive, and somewhat overprotective. On their way out of town, the couple kill a young man, and whether this murder is self-defense or something else hangs over the rest of the narrative and over the relationship between Dylan and Lacey.
Throughout the novel, Thrash’s characters confront the complexities of how we imagine people we love and have loved. Despite its crime-related plot lines, the novel is deeply interested in the nature of love. As the relationship between Lacey and Dylan develops, readers come to see that what was a crime story may actually be a romance. Lacey’s devotion to Dylan is fascinating to read because it’s not uncomplicated. Thrash depicts a relationship that is imperfect and yet deeply committed, making it believable and also heart-wrenching. When circumstances threaten to separate the two of them, Lacey’s reasoning – that they could have pulled the whole thing off if they had separated earlier – becomes particularly poignant.
In the early 2000s, Dylan is finding success in the modeling world just as the case of Lacey’s parents attracts new public attention. This new publicity draws Dylan and Lacey back to that night in the New England woods and forces them to make difficult decisions about how to face the past and each other. Their decision-making process raises questions about asylum and particularly about the treatment of trans people in the United States prison system. Because Dylan is not legally recognized as female by the United States government, she would be sent to a male prison if convicted of a crime. The pair could be married in the United States, but not as their true selves. With the couple’s legal options dwindling, Thrash sticks the landing, with a conclusion that is just as compelling as the rest of the story.
Thrash is already well regarded for her graphic memoirs (Honor Girl and Lost Soul, Be at Peace) as well as for her young adult fiction, but Rainbow Black is a brilliant new use of her talents. If you’re looking for your next stay-up-late-to-finish-it book, look no further.
FICTION
Rainbow Black
By Maggie Thrash
Harper Perennial
Published March 19, 2024
Southern Review of Books 